


Love on Loan

by BlimeyOhLimey



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV), wayhaught - Fandom
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-20 10:55:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19990984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlimeyOhLimey/pseuds/BlimeyOhLimey
Summary: It was never meant to happen. But, it did. Love got in the way of legacy. And, all its consequences.A Wayhaught one shot that started me on this storytelling journey...!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> OK, this was my first attempt at writing fan fic. My first attempt at writing fiction. I cringe now reading it back. God, it's so bad, but it's out there. Fuck it. Gotta start somewhere...
> 
> In love and light...

Evening was approaching. Shadows were beginning to stretch out from the tall windows of the library where Nicole had hidden herself for most of the afternoon. She grabbed a book tossed aside earlier in frustration, massaging it with her fingers. She couldn’t stop thinking about her. Waverly. Her name was Waverly Earp, a slender, gorgeous brunette, shorter, whose eyes radiated a light Nicole had not seen in anyone before. She knew she was in deep and it was driving her crazy.

Unable to concentrate, Nicole cast her eyes over the other students busy using their minds, reflecting on her surroundings. On gaining a place at Oxford, she read everything she could find in preparation, memorising unfamiliar street names, looking at way too many photos of historic buildings and fantasizing about falling in love with such a prestigious city. On arrival her opinion changed quickly. Her excitement was replaced by bitterness as she watched those who had never had to struggle, in the same way her family had, enjoy an easy existence of privilege. To her, Oxford became a smothering, suffocating place reeking of history and polish along every elite corridor. A place that encouraged students to feel exceptional and she didn’t. 

Nicole was running late. The Uber driver was having trouble finding her flat, the dress shirt she intended to wear had a stain on the front too large to ignore and Nicole was stressed. Meeting new people had never been a problem. She learnt how to navigate her way through college back home, using her height, her charm and distinctive red hair to full advantage. Tonight was different. She was meeting other students of Lincoln College for the first time in a contrived setting and she felt uneasy, so far outside of her comfort zone she could barely see it anymore. The suit she brought with her was perfect; black, tailored and showing off everything Nicole had to offer. But it was no armour, offering little protection should barbed comments be thrown her way. She would need to prove herself to a group of strangers she wasn’t sure would welcome her into their cosy, cosseted world. An existence she now hated, but secretly wanted.

Waverly was getting ready in her student digs, giggling with her friend Chrissy about what the evening might have in store for them. Her dress was equally perfect, cream, expensive and fitted to show off everything Waverly wanted on display that evening. Her body was in peak physical condition, muscles toned, skin tanned, unsurprising given how much time she and Chrissy spent in the gym and the spa. She felt really good, utterly alive and ready to enjoy the evening with several glasses of champagne. She wasn’t expecting someone like Nicole Haught to run into her life. 

Nicole’s Uber pulled up outside the entrance to the college. She jumped out, thrusting money at the driver in an effort to speed things up. As she ran towards the entrance of the hall, the night air caught on her lungs. Then she saw her, a vision stopping her breath completely. A younger woman, laughing with another, outlined in exquisite detail by the soft light thrown out by the venue, without a care in the world. And that was it.

Nicole slowed her pace so as not to look desperate to get to an event for which she was already late. The two women stopped their conversation as Nicole approached, still slightly out of breath.

“What’s the hurry?” the brunette asked, as Nicole came within earshot.

Nicole smiled, dimples on full display, unable to find any words to respond. Waverly couldn’t take her eyes off her. A look, held longer than it should, something unspoken connecting. She had seen beautiful women before. Hell, she had even slept with a few. Nicole was something else. And that was it. 

After what seemed like an eternity, Nicole realised she hadn’t introduced herself. “Hi, I’m Nicole. Nicole Haught,” she offered, waiting for the usual laughter which accompanied her surname. To her surprise, Waverly didn’t laugh, but Nicole caught the moment her eyes widened. A good sign she thought.

“Waverly. My friends call me Waves” the brunette replied, holding out a hand to introduce herself. As their palms met, a spark ignited.

“And, I’m Chrissy” the other woman interrupted, attempting to move things along. 

Everything seemed to slow down for Nicole from that point onwards. The three women entered the venue together, soaking up the heady mixture of laughter and talking, piano music pervading the night. Chrissy moved off to find her other friends, recognising Waverly needed space to enjoy the company of Nicole. Beautiful women had been on Waverly’s radar for some time and Chrissy knew when her friend was on the scent of someone new. They talked, laughed, drank more than they should and flirted with each other for all its worth. 

As the evening drew to a close, Waverly took Nicole’s hand and pulled her in closer. “I’m drunk and you’re very good looking, but I think you know that.”

“That you’re drunk” Nicole teased, moving her free hand up to stroke Waverly’s luscious hair.

Waverly smiled, pulling Nicole into her hips. “What if I gave you my number?”

“What if I kissed you” Nicole replied, finding a new bravery, trying to gauge the moment. The look in Waverly’s eyes told her everything she needed to know. She brought her mouth to Waverly’s, caressing her lips for the very first time. Their tongues moved quickly in an effort to get as much from the kiss and each other as they could. If anyone noticed, no one said anything as the two sealed the contract to their newly-formed friendship. As they pulled away, Waverly slipped a piece of paper into Nicole’s pocket, before signalling to Chrissy she was ready to leave. Nicole watched as the two girls walked away arm in arm, whispering and giggling with each other. And that was it. 

Waverly came from a world so different from anything Nicole had ever encountered. A world of status, privilege, impossibly high expectation. She was very young when she had been taken in by her aunt and uncle, part of the extended Earp family now established in the UK, rich and extremely well-connected, only too happy to give Waverly all the advantages wealth and position could bestow. Waverly barely remembered her original family. She knew she had two older sisters, that one of them had disappeared tragically, presumed dead and that her family in America had concluded she would have a better life away from Purgatory, fearing something similar happening to her as had befallen Willa. She hadn’t intended to study at Oxford, but her natural intelligence, combined with a love of learning, meant university was a natural fit. She had chosen Lincoln, partly through family connections and the intrigue of meeting Americans. She no longer felt American, but something deep inside drew her to connect. 

Nicole, in contrast, had grown up an only child in a struggling one-parent family, expected to make her own way, without having anything handed to her freely on a plate. Coming out to her mother had been by accident and painful, but her mother respected Nicole’s choice, had hugged her, said she loved her and that was enough. Nicole had excelled in school, then college. When a place at Oxford University was offered to study for a Doctorate degree she grabbed it with both hands, little knowing what it would mean to enter such a world. She perceived it as a way to move far beyond her small town roots, to use whatever talents she had to make something of herself. Nicole had laughed out loud on first reading the promotional blurb for Lincoln:

‘One of the smaller Oxford colleges, combining intimacy with a strong academic tradition.’

She most definitely would come to mix intimacy with intellect on multiple occasions with Waverly. They enjoyed each other, laughing long into the night, making love, or rather having fantastic, mind-blowing sex neither could get enough of. Waverly was a free spirit, able to let go in the moment of passion and that was refreshing to Nicole. No strings attached, no expectations. Heat without heaviness that comes with wanting too much from each other. That suited Nicole. She hated the privilege Waverly took for granted. She hated the way Waverly’s friends could so easily enjoy a lifestyle beyond most people’s reach. 

It was always in Nicole’s flat. The movement of their bodies in rhythm, knowing how to send each other over the edge, never selfish. Nicole could make Waverly scream with pleasure to the point of her passing out one time. Waverly would leave just before dawn, always with a look that said she was Nicole’s for now, not forever. That also suited Nicole. She didn’t want to feel she owed Waverly anything other than amazing orgasms. She didn’t want to be bought by Waverly. She was too proud, too independent for that. They talked about their worlds, knowing each had walked different paths. Waverly understood Nicole’s reluctance to feel at home in the world she currently inhabited. It didn’t worry her. This wasn’t for keeps. 

“Friends with benefits, right?” Waverly would repeat, winking at Nicole as they both moved against each other in a desperate need to connect beyond their different worlds. Nicole would watch from the bed as Waverly dressed, stealing one final kiss before closing the bedroom door, making her way back to her privileged life. 

Nicole’s text had been direct. Come to the library. Need to tell you something.

The figure now moving towards the library caught Nicole’s eye. It was Waverly approaching in a hurry. Nicole gulped. She glanced at her own reflection in the window. As Waverly entered the building Nicole lost sight of her and herself for a moment. Nicole had fought it for so long, trying to convince herself that her hatred of everything Waverly represented would be enough to keep her from falling. It hadn't. It couldn't. A cold sweat began to form, sending a shiver down her back. Was this the right moment? Would any moment be right to admit how she truly felt? This amazing, fascinating, utterly free angel. Yes, that’s what she had become to Nicole. Her angel. The moment had to be right. Her course at Oxford was coming to an end and she didn’t have much time. She needed to put how she felt out into the world. It was ride or die time and Nicole hoped beyond hopes that it would be ride. 

“What’s so important that you dragged me all the way here,” Waverly said, as she approached the taller woman. Her eyes scanned Nicole’s face attempting to understand what was happening. The moment had arrived. Nicole needed to find the courage to say what she’d been feeling for some time. She gazed into the eyes of her lover, lost momentarily in their radiance.

Swallowing loudly, unaware she was still fingering the cover of the book in her hand, the words left her mouth, never to return. "Waverly, I love you." 

In that moment it felt to Nicole as if all the air in the room had been sucked out. Waverly was silent. She lowered her eyes away from Nicole’s gaze in an effort not to cry. An eternity passed before anything was said. Eventually, she took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," her voice apologetic, "I don't feel the same way, and I don't think I ever will. I...I don't love you Nicole."

And that was it. Nicole knew. How foolish she had been to have thought someone like Waverly could ever love someone like her. Privilege had won over passion. Legacy over love. Everything, everyting they had enjoyed together, every shared touch, every single act of togetherness was obliterated by the words Waverly had just uttered. As they had left her mouth, Waverly knew she had done a terrible thing. She could almost hear Nicole’s world shatter into pieces before her. Unable to bear the pain, which she had inflicted on her lover, she turned and hurried away.

Nicole stood in her bedroom waiting for the Uber taxi to take her to the airport. Her small collection of clothes and books were packed into two suitcases, ready to make the long journey to anywhere but here. It had been two weeks since she had seen, let alone spoken to, Waverly. The wound in her heart where Waverly’s words had pierced was still open, still raw. She moved towards the bed they once had shared, running her hand slowly across the cover. Its touch and memory sent fresh waves of sadness as tears began to well. The ring of the doorbell jolted Nicole briefly out of her melancholy. For a second she hoped it might be Waverly, come to beg forgiveness. Come to say she was wrong, that she did love Nicole. The Uber driver looked away embarrassed as a tearful Nicole stood before him, grabbing the suitcases being handed out, shoving them roughly into the boot of his car.

Heathrow airport was bustling. People mingling, some laughing, others looking excited about the journeys they were about to take. Everyone, except Nicole seemed to want to be in that airport. She couldn’t bear to leave without saying goodbye. She took out her phone and began to type:

Nicole: I’m at the airport. I’ll always love you.

She waited. Nothing, then a ping.

Waverly: I know. Be good. Do amazing things…W

And that was it.

The queue to board her plane began to move. Nicole, still trying to process the very last text she assumed Waverly would ever send her, felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning to see who it was interrupting her thoughts, she felt her legs betray her long before her face ever could. As they gave way, hands grabbed at her waist in an attempt to keep her upright. The action failed as both of them went crashing to the floor. And there in the middle of Heathrow, Waverly was straddling Nicole.

“Hi," Waverly said.

“Hey” was all Nicole could utter in response.

“Mind if I tag along for the ride.”

“Wait. What? Are you sure?”

“I’ve been thinking about visiting my family in the US and now seems like as good a time as any. Plus, I hear sex in First Class is out of this world,” Waverly’s unmistakable giggle making its appearance once more. “I paid for an upgrade of your ticket, so we could be together. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Why?” Nicole asked, dazed by everything that was happening to her right there in that moment on the floor of a busy airport.

“Because I love you.” 

And that was it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The allure of the gilded cage: a place where someone appears to live in luxury but where they have very little freedom.

Waverly looked out over the wing as the plane took off. For the first time in her life she knew she was truly free. She was with the person she had finally allowed herself to love. Her old story was finished and she was more than ready to begin the writing a new one, one that included Nicole. Her decision to go to America had not come entirely out of the blue. She had toyed with the idea of visiting her birth family for some time, but the pull had grown stronger since meeting Nicole. The moment she had run into her life, Waverly sensed she might be the one who could rescue her. 

“She’s absolutely gorgeous.” Chrissy teased as they strolled arm in arm towards the exit. “I saw you, you little minx. So, is she going to be your next conquest?”

“Perhaps,” Waverly winked, with a flash of her eyes that said she most definitely was.

“Waves, you’re so predictable. Any beautiful woman and she’s yours. You know you can’t keep her.” Chrissy warned.

Waverly didn’t answer. She merely smiled, but in that smile was a hint of sadness knowing full well what Chrissy meant. 

Chrissy did not possess the natural beauty of her best friend Waverly, but she was clever and definitely just as wealthy. They met at boarding school and hit it off immediately. Their inside joke was ‘safety in numbers,’ those numbers being the enormous bank balances each had meaning they weren’t out to gain financially from each other through being friends. It was good to have someone who understood the heavy burden of being very wealthy. Chrissy was perfectly content to carry all the weight of her money. In fact, she was more than happy to decorate her gilded cage with all the expensive baubles money had to offer. 

Chrissy was on the hunt for someone to marry who was comfortable with such indulgence. She certainly wasn’t going to marry beneath her. Onwards and upwards for Chrissy. But, she recognised Waverly didn’t feel the same about her wealth. That may have been because Waverly had not been born into her wealth, like Chrissy. It may have been because of the few memories Waverly still had of where she had started out from. It may have been because Waverly just wasn’t meant to be caged. Whatever the reason, Waverly rarely discussed something as crude as money with Chrissy. One simply didn’t in polite society. 

The other subject they didn’t dwell on was Waverly’s desire for women. Chrissy had known since school Waverly found women interesting. Waverly knew she could have anyone, male or female. Yet beneath all the easy conquests, what Waverly most wanted was someone who really looked at her. Saw her, not her money. Someone who was brave enough to pull back the lavish, gold-threaded curtain and see her as a person, not a possession. 

Waverly’s family also turned a blind eye to her casual relationships. They let her have just enough freedom to go play with the next person to catch her eye. But, it was expected that she would marry and by marry, that meant well. And that became Waverly’s prison. Many looked at her with money signs in their eyes, already calculating what they would do with her enormous inheritance. Her beauty was important only to the degree she would look good on their arm. That she had brains meant the prospect of clever kids and intelligent conversation at the dining table. 

The weight of family expectation grew heavier as each year passed. It was not that her aunt and uncle were demanding, but they had invested a lot in Waverly, their only child since they couldn’t have any themselves. They wanted the very best for her, but within the confining boundaries set by their elevated position in society. They adored Waverly. Who didn’t? She was their precious angel, a beautiful, fragile bundle of perfection who had come into their lives at just the right time and filled it with so much love. But, they had unintentionally imprisoned her, clipped her wings, making it almost impossible for her to fly away. 

That was why it was different being with Nicole. Nicole didn’t expect anything from her. Certainly not her money. Waverly knew Nicole wasn’t impressed by her privilege as so many others were. That was abundantly clear. Waverly knew she was extremely fortunate, simply nodding when Nicole said her friends didn’t fully understand what it was like to go without a meal. Admittedly, Waverly didn’t. The only time she’d ever felt hungry was when she had deliberately starved herself to fit into a beautiful new Versace dress her aunt had bought her for her eighteenth birthday party. Waverly knew that Nicole’s hatred was never directed at her, but Nicole’s withering comment about having it all delivered on a silver platter, which Waverly protested had only been on one occasion and the food had tasted amazing, made her realise there was so much more to life than expensive caviar from Fortnum & Mason.

With Nicole she could be who she most wanted to be. A free spirit. She could come and go as she pleased. And, Waverly would be the first to admit coming with Nicole was out of this world. Their love making was electric. Waverly worshipped Nicole’s body. She took pleasure in tracing her fingers around erect nipples, watching how Nicole’s eyes would close, her head tilt back as she let Waverly bring her nearer to the edge. Likewise, Waverly couldn’t get enough of being fucked by her stunning girlfriend. Her therapist had suggested she might be using Nicole to avoid certain issues in her life. Her therapist could go fuck herself, for all Waverly cared. 

Maybe she was. It felt decadent to be in Nicole’s bed and so much more. Far beyond what she could consciously express. She adored how Nicole could build the sexual tension between them to the point where they were frantically tearing each other’s clothes off, desperate to get at bodies faster than zips and buttons would allow. She couldn’t get enough of the screams Nicole let out as her orgasm hit, her body shaking uncontrollably as she came around Waverly’s fingers. Most of all, she couldn’t get enough of Nicole’s immense intelligence. Serious conversation had always been the most potent aphrodisiac to Waverly. Anyone who could discuss Sartre in depth, while fingering her, could have her forever.

“Don’t fall in love with me,” Nicole would tease. 

“Oh, I won’t,” Waverly would reply. “I’m only on loan, remember.”

And, that had made the moment in the library even more painful. Each of them knew in their heart they had fallen for the other long before anything being said. It took Nicole’s courage to say what Waverly had needed to be spoken into the world. But, when faced with truth, Waverly had frozen, unable to take the final step towards the freedom she knew was being offered to her right there on a platter by the person she loved more than anything in the world. 

Waverly’s text to Chrissy said it all: Done a bad thing. Need you.

Chrissy: Coming babes. Where are you?

Chrissy made her way to Waverly’s room where she found her curled up in a fetal position on the bed sobbing uncontrollably. 

“Waves, what’s happened?” Chrissy asked, shocked to see how upset her friend was.

Through sobs, Waverly managed to tell her best friend she had done something unforgivable.

“You’ve killed someone?” Chrissy questioned, half joking, half trying to work out what was happening. “For fuck’s sake Waverly, what did you do?”

After several minutes of Chrissy stroking Waverly’s hair she was calm enough to tell her. “She loves me and I broke her heart,” Waverly began, tears streaming down her face. “I let her think I didn’t love her. Chrissy, I lied to the one person I can’t live without.” 

Waverly spent the rest of the night curled up on Chrissy’s lap, as her best friend did everything she could to comfort someone whose heart was breaking.

As morning came, Chrissy gently shook Waverly who had finally dozed off, still crying in her sleep throughout the night. She raised her friend to a sitting position so they were facing each other. "My darling friend, you need to tell Nicole what you really feel about her,” Chrissy instructed, smoothing Waverly’s hair which was sticking out at odd angles. 

“I can’t. It would mean going against what my family expects.”

“Isn’t she worth that sacrifice?”

And that was it. In that moment, reality hit Waverly with all its force as her friend’s words entered her soul. Waverly had weighed Nicole against her wealth and now she finally understood Nicole was worth so much more. She was beyond a price. She was her everything.

The conversation with her aunt and uncle was painful. Everyone was sobbing. They all knew this moment had been coming, but for it to finally be here was too much. Waverly’s voice cracked as she told them what needed to be said: “I love you, but I love Nicole. I have to be with her.”

Chrissy’s car had just pulled up outside Heathrow airport when Waverly received the text from Nicole. Chrissy could see her friend grinning. 

“It’s from Nicole,” Waverly explained, typing a response.

“Did you tell her you were here at the airport?”.

“No, I want it to be a surprise.”

“Oh, I think she’ll be surprised,” Chrissy said, as the two girls began laughing. 

She helped Waverly with her suitcase into the airport. Waverly had decided to travel light, to leave behind as much of her old life as possible. She could always send for things as she needed them, but right now she wanted to be as unburdened by her wealth as she possibly could. Chrissy hugged her best friend one last time. “I’m so excited for you. Wish I could be there to see Nicole’s face. Promise you’ll let me know where you’re staying. I’ll visit once you’re settled.” 

“I will,” Waverly replied, still holding onto her friend for dear life. 

The last image Chrissy had of Waverly was her heading towards the Check-In counter. Waverly turned to wave to her friend one last time, blowing her a kiss, before disappearing into a sea of other passengers. Waverly looked the happiest she’d seen her friend in a long time and Chrissy knew she was finally free.


End file.
